The effects of attitude familiarity on social interactions and stress

Previous correlational research suggests that familiarity with another's attitudes is beneficial for physical health and relationship outcomes. This study aimed to examine the causal effects of attitude familiarity on the stressfulness of interactions and individuals' perceptions of themselves, their partner, and the interaction. Participants were randomly assigned to an attitude familiarity, trait familiarity, or no familiarity condition and completed a discussion task with an assigned partner. Measures of cardiovascular reactivity and participant perception were obtained. In line with our predictions, systolic blood pressure reactivity was significantly lower during the discussion task in the familiarity conditions compared to the control condition. However, other significant main effects of condition on cardiovascular reactivity or self-report measures were found. Secondary analyses indicated that increases in attitude similarity and respect and liking for a partner's attitude or traits were associated with more favorable perceptions of the partner and interaction.